S.A. skater/actor should flip over ‘Dome’s’ huge ratings

Wow! The news should inspire an extra-exuberant ollie off a ramp by San Antonio skateboarder John Elvis, the young actor who landed a recurring role in what’s shaping up to be the most-watched summer series to debut in years.

The ratings winner is CBS’ 13-part “Under the Dome,” the Stephen King thriller about a small town in Maine that is cut off from the rest of the world when an enormous, transparent dome mysteriously descends upon it, trapping the residents inside.

In preliminary overnight numbers from Nielsen, the premiere drew a whopping audience of 13.1 million. According to Entertainment Weekly, that represents the highest rated summer debut on any network since NBC’s “The Singing Bee” in 2007. It’s also competitive with recent regular-season premieres, matching Fox’s serial-killer drama “The Following” as the second-highest new drama debut of last season.

It also scored big with the audience preferred by many advertisers — adults, ages 18 to 49.

As I reported earlier, Elvis, 21 (right), plays Ben, the shaggy-haired friend of central teen Joe. He described Ben as a goofy, 16-year-old “little skate rat.”

In his most exciting scene to air in episode three (July 8) of the Monday night series, Elvis said: “I skate on the dome!”

He explained that the dome – consisting of vertical walls and a curved top – makes for a great trick skateboarding surface. “I ride up the wall and ride right down,” Elvis, a regular at S.A. skater hangout, Ladybird Johnson Park, revealed.

Of course, as is usual in Hollywood, Elvis’ big scene is helped along a bit by a stuntman and a green screen.